SPRINGFIELD – Urbana opened with a great deal of intensity Tuesday night, jumping out to a big lead and defeating Indian Lake, 71-58, in the Division II boys sectional basketball tournament at Springfield High School.
Jordan Underwood had himself a game for Urbana.
“Jordan was awesome tonight. Sometimes he has a tendency to get passive. I told him tonight he’s got to be aggressive right from the get-go,” UHS Coach Jeremy Dixon said.
The senior scored the team’s first eight points and out-scored Indian Lake 13-6 by himself in the first quarter. Urbana led 17-6 after that opening frame.
“Coach told me to be aggressive and my teammates found me and I was able to capitalize on their passes,” Underwood said. “I just wanted to get everybody feeling good and turnt up. That’s what we like.”
At halftime, Underwood had 20 points – matching the Lakers’ total. Urbana had its Mad River Division foe doubled up 40-20 at that point, with UHS big man Levi Boettcher getting on a roll with some nice dives to the basket.
“I don’t know if he felt like he had something to prove tonight, but that was the most aggressive we’ve seen him,” Dixon said.
The scoring tear continued into the second half, with Underwood getting to the rim at will. He ripped the nets for another 12 points in the third and finished with a career-high 36 points. Through three quarters, he had again tied Indian Lake by himself, 32-32.
“We were just locked in defensively for three quarters,” Dixon said. “Our guys wanted it tonight and I think we showed how good we can be. Hopefully we can get that effort on Saturday.”
Urbana (17-7) will play Tippecanoe (16-8) here in a matchup of the tournament’s top two seeds on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in a sectional final.
